As quantities of digitized information grow rapidly, the prevalence of data in a textual format becomes evident. From ever growing numbers of blog posts, to governments advancing from paper archives to using the internet to its full potential, the quantity of raw text available is increasing steadily. Traditionally, large bodies of text have been organized and classified in ways that allowed for easier traversal of the text. From books to websites, large collections have taken a form on line that replicates the physical manifestations they have previously embodied on paper. As the amount of data grows, however, it is becoming increasingly important to provide tools that allow for faster and higher level understanding and navigation of the underlying text, independent of its basic logical structure.
Google Maps is a geographic map service that one views in a web browser. Depending on one's location, one can view basic or custom geographic-type maps and local business information, including business locations, contact information, and driving directions. One can select and move (e.g., click and drag) maps to view adjacent sections immediately. One can view satellite images of a desired location and can zoom (increase/decrease granularity or scale of) and pan the images. Thus Google Maps is an example mapping framework that introduces computer user interaction concepts. However, Google Maps does not address text documents or bodies of text.
The Seesoft® software visualization system enables one to analyze up to fifty thousand lines of code simultaneously by mapping each line of code into a thin row. The color of each row indicates a statistic of interest, e.g., red rows are those most recently changed, and blue rows are those least recently changed. The system allows for visually examining lines of textual data in a larger context. The system does not however, allow for user interactions that are similar to those available in the context of a geographical map such as panning and zooming. The level of detail in the Seesoft system is limited to a line by line level of details.
Google Books is a web based book browsing service. Scanned previews and entire books are offered to the public along with relevant information about the book such as links to purchase the book. The Google Books system provides an electronic way of reading and searching large bodies of text. However, Google Books does not provide a geographic map-like interface to large collections of text along with highlighting of various features in the text.